There are various reasons why people get to be expert members. The single most common feature isnt that theyve been on the site for an age, or that they have extensive product knowledge. Its that they contribute positively to the community.

Answer peoples questions helpfully; avoid flame wars; offer advice or help to people who aren't themselves sure on what they're even trying to ask; and all round send some nice positive vibes.

I wasn't going to comment on this thread because I really don't care about the 'expert member' title. I've been around long enough to know that having the title doesn't mean anything other than some free gear. However, I like your optimism ippollite, but your list of what makes someone an expert members made me laugh!

Originally posted by ippollite

Answer peoples questions helpfully; avoid flame wars; offer advice or help to people who aren't themselves sure on what they're even trying to ask; and all round send some nice positive vibes.

Answer peoples questions helpfully - I've seen some experts give BAD advice that isn't helpful to the customer since it is incorrect. I've tried tactfully telling them in the past, but the get all defensive and refuse to listen. Don't get me wrong some of them know their stuff, most of them know some stuff, and a couple, well, I question if they even snowboard.

avoid flame wars - Haha, I can think of a few right now who aren't very good at this! I mean, not as bad as some members, but some experts trigger wars and like to keep flames going.

offer advice or help to people who aren't themselves sure on what they're even trying to ask - there are at least 5 expert members that I can think of off the top of my head who I've never seen offer a bit of advice. Neither in the forum or on chat (neither Product nor General). Granted, I'm not around a lot anymore, but I use to be really active and they were never seen. There are some 'regular' members, however, that I have seen give sound advice, and a lot of it. If your list was accurate, they would have been recruited to be expert members a long time ago.

and all round send some nice positive vibes - Two expert members in particular really destroy this one (it made me giggle the most).

Recently a bunch of expert members were chosen due to their location, that is about it.

Big Air. Kids today, that's all they want, big air. I say stick to the mountain. That's where the fun is. You want big air kid? Pull my finger.

The first batch of expert members were chosen after the owner of sierra made a thread asking for people interested in being an expert member. He along with a couple other members of staff chose the first batch which was about 8 people. Since then the process has changed some but ippolite basically put the details out there for what expert members are/do. Not all expert members are expecting to excel in all the things ippolite mentioned though. Some expert members were chosen simply because they are great at the
customer service aspect of the site. Sierra is up and running 24 hours a
day. The staff is around for maybe 10 hours a day. They needed people
to step in and help out with things when staff wasn't around.

Spenser is not an expert member because I believe he has no desire to be one. He also likes to ruffle feathers around here quite a bit. He does a great job of walking the fine line between being helpful and being extremely critical of sierra. Eventually you realize that this is just how Spenser is. He means no harm.

Oh and yes you have to sleep with the right people to become an expert member.

Spenser is not an expert member because I believe he has no desire to be one. He also likes to ruffle feathers around here quite a bit. He does a great job of walking the fine line between being helpful and being extremely critical of sierra. Eventually you realize that this is just how Spenser is. He means no harm.

you are right except in that i like to ruffle feathers. i may end up doing so indirectly sometimes, but i dont do it on purpose. i dont get off on that like some others.

i am critical of sierra sometimes though, when the topic is up.

i think thats why i wasnt chosen to be an expert member... theyre supposed to represent sierra the way mike wants them to.. and i dont. but youre also right that i dont have a desire to be one.. it wouldnt change anything anyway, and its just the internet after all

All in all, I think our expert members are a great part of the community. And spam hocking is a great thing.

All the experts are human, and have their personality quirks and hot topics, for sure. You and E both feel very strongly in opposition on a specific topic (religion), which may be why you say this. I think we all have our hot-buttons, and all react differently to them. Chances are if you found one of my hot buttons, you'd say the same about me. Some days it's really hard to be the bigger person and step away from an argument/discussion you know is going nowhere.

I personally think the spam thing is stupid, BUT with the whole points system and stupid people who abuse it, i see why its there. Some people just take it too seriousssssly.

Not all the experts are knowledgeable on gear, but like Bru said some are better
with customer service questions. I personally spend most of my time helping people who PC me with questions. I dont really help in the forum, and used to help in the product chat more often. and yes some experts never sign in.............

I am personally really popular as some might think and get along amazingly with everyone [/sarcasm] I am also pretty good at accidentally creating e-drama and then having to deal with the repercussions of it hahah. I just want to point out that expert members are rarely ever given any direction from staff or 'Sierra' in general. They don't tell us what to do, or whats going on with the store, or keep us updated with things we should probably know, which at times is frustrating for us.... its hard to represent a place when you don't know wtf is going on with said place.

In the end for me being an expert member is about helping other people enjoy snowboarding I love when someone gets really stoked on an item I helped them find that fits their needs as a rider that they might not have found on their own.

Snowboarding makes me happy

Originally posted by BudAshes

You have to shank someone from easy loungin

EL really dislikes when people mention the word 'Sierra' over there.... maybe you shouldnt mention them over here

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